LaCie 324i review

Among the 24in monitors on test, the Lacie 324i is the best choice for designers. It may be small, but it’s loaded with features

by
Karl Hodge| 20 Oct 11

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Rating

Price

RRP: £1,049; £1,349 with Blue Eye Pro calibrator

Pros

Latest P-IPS technology offers 1.07 billion colours

easy setup

lots of connectivity options

176 degree viewing angle

anti-glare coating

Cons

Connectors in an awkward spot in landscape mode

LaCie 324i review

We’ve reviewed the LaCie 324i before, and it was highly praised at the time. As a 24in monitor, it’s not the largest display in this test, but it makes a fantastic alternative to any of the 27in models if either space or expense are an issue.

Squarely aimed at creative professionals, the LaCie is an ideal entry model. We couldn’t resist a couple of Portal 2 sessions with it plugged in – as it’s great for multimedia and games. Though there’s a version that ships with its own colour calibration tool (the Blue Eye Pro calibrator) we found that again, that monitor looks pretty good without much in the way of configuration. Because we were testing the display’s design chops, we didn’t just treat the LaCie as an excuse to break out the Portal gun. We also inspected photographic images in Photoshop, browsed multimedia-rich websites and opened Illustrator files. The deep blacks we’ve commented on before were still in evidence. To the naked eye, and in its native resolution of 1,920 x 1,200 pixels, the LaCie performed extremely well in a series of everyday design tasks.

The specifications tell the same story. The blurb boasts a viewing angle of 176 degrees – a claim that we can confirm. The display has a wide colour gamut of 98 per cent as well as a mooted contrast ratio of 1,000:1. For designers, it’s especially worth mentioning that the monitor effortlessly swivels into portrait mode – this is a brilliantly handy feature whether you work in print or on the web.

As far as connectivity goes, the LaCie is pretty well covered – you’ll find a DVI-D socket, DisplayPort, HDMI and component video ports. There’s also a built-in three-port USB hub. The only downside is that the ports are set in at the bottom of the panel, and awkward to access in landscape mode.

Among the 24in monitors on test, the Lacie 324i is the best choice for designers. It may be small, but it’s loaded with features

OUR VERDICT

This is a monitor we’d have no qualms about owning and using every single day. Robust and packed with features, it stands up well to other hardware in its class. However, if you do decide to buy one, we’d recommend choosing the version with the Blue Eye Pro calibrator bundled. If you’re serious enough to spend over a grand on a display, then you want to make sure its performing as well as possible.